De Zerbi reveals Richarlison, Danso and Sarr have all asked to leave Tottenham

Roberto De Zerbi confirmed after Tottenham’s 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle United on Saturday that three of his players — Richarlison, Kevin Danso and Pape Matar Sarr — have formally asked to leave the club before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

Richarlison was absent from the matchday squad entirely, having started the previous weekend’s 3-0 loss at Brentford. De Zerbi made no attempt to conceal the reasons for his omission, stating the Brazilian forward had made his intentions clear on multiple occasions.

“Richarlison, he said too many times that he wanted to leave,” De Zerbi said. “Danso came to me two days ago and said he wanted to leave. Sarr the same, but he also suffered a small injury, but he is almost ready to train.”

De Zerbi was careful to frame the situation without animosity, insisting his relationships with all three players remain positive. “I love these players and these are great guys. I have very good relationships. But if they want to leave they have to bring the economic solution to the club and they can go, and we’ll find other players.”

The disclosures add further turbulence to a summer that was supposed to signal a new era at Spurs. The club have invested around £300m in transfers following a 17th-placed Premier League finish last season, yet back-to-back heavy defeats have underlined the scale of the rebuild still required.

Tottenham are continuing to pursue additional signings before the window closes, though they appear set to miss out on one of their primary targets. Cody Gakpo, the Liverpool and Netherlands winger, is widely reported to be closing in on an £85m move to Manchester City, leaving Spurs to look elsewhere for attacking reinforcements.